Author: Jammi Rao (jammi.rao@btopenworld.com)
Publication: Hindu Press International
Date: July 8, 2006
URL: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2006/7/8.shtml#1
(HPI note: For further information on the
following press release, contact Dr. Jammi Rao, the temple's Press Officer,
at the e-mail above.)
Europe's largest Hindu temple, near Birmingham,
is set to open in August with great fanfare and elaborate rituals performed
by priests especially brought from India. The US$12 million temple, funded
in part by a grant from the Millennium Fund, stands on 12.5 acres of former
waste land. In 1992, the then Black Country Development Corporation made the
site available for this unique project. Over 10,000 people are expected to
attend the five-day event which will begin on August 23, 2006, and will culminate
with the sanctification of the majestic temple built in the same style as
the famous Tirupati temple in India. The Tirupati temple is one of the most
revered temples in India. "This is the fulfillment of a long cherished
dream, the end of a long road; and the beginning of a new era; not just for
those most closely involved with the temple project but for every Hindu in
the world," said Dr. V. P. Narayan Rao, the chairman of trustees.
The temple construction involved scores of
sculptors and artisans from India working ceaselessly to make the intricate
carvings of ancient Hindu Gods and Goddesses on the walls, pillars and ceilings
of the temple. The design and construction of the temple involved a blend
of ancient tradition and materials such as imported granite and modern methods.
The temple complex also includes a multi-purpose community hall that is available
to the community.
The opening of the temple in Tividale, near
Birmingham, will be a most remarkable religious event for 600,000 British
people who belong to the Hindu faith. It will involve the installation of
the six-foot-tall Deity of Lord Venkateshwara (Lord Rama); a dozen Hindu priests
will perform ancient Vedic rituals to purify and sanctify the land and the
buildings.